Chapter 37: The Calm Before the Storm
Time: Three Months Later.
Location: The Phoenix Spirit Pavilion (Backroom).
Three months had passed since the "Night of Fire" when Luo Feng burned the mercenaries in the cellar.
In that time, the Phoenix Spirit Pavilion had become a legend in Green Willow City. The scorch marks in the alleyway had been scrubbed clean, the cellar rebuilt with reinforced stone, and the business was booming—quietly.
Fatty Wang sat behind his desk, counting a stack of Spirit Stones. He looked wealthier than before. His silk robes were embroidered with real gold thread, and he wore a defensive jade ring on his thumb.
"The spies are still there," Wang murmured, not looking up from his ledger.
Luo Feng sat in the shadows, sipping tea. He wore his signature bamboo hat and black robes.
"I know," Luo Feng said calmly. "Three of them. One beggar across the street. One tea stall vendor. And one 'customer' who browses but never buys."
"They are from the Alchemy Guild," Wang sighed. "They are waiting for us to make a mistake. They are waiting for the 'Master Brewer' to show his face."
"Let them wait," Luo Feng stood up. "As long as we sell only 10 bottles a day, they can't legally attack us without starting a war with the City Lord. Greed makes them patient."
Luo Feng placed a new storage bag on the table. It was heavy.
"New stock?" Wang's eyes lit up.
"Better," Luo Feng said. "This is Batch 3. I used the 20-Year Mutated Grapes. The potency is 30% higher than the previous batch. Sell it as a 'Premium Edition'. Double the price."
"You are a demon," Wang chuckled, grabbing the bag. "But a rich demon."
The Brewing.
Location: The Farming Space.
Luo Feng returned to his sanctuary.
The farm was bursting with life. Over the last three months, the 20 Acres of land had been fully utilized.
10 Acres were dedicated to Spirit Rice (for the family's food).
5 Acres were for Mutated Vitality Yams (for defense and body strengthening).
5 Acres were now a dedicated Vineyard.
Luo Feng walked through the vineyard. The purple grapes were no longer small. They were the size of plums, glowing with a faint violet light. The skin was translucent, revealing the swirling Qi inside.
"More wine," Luo Feng muttered, inspecting a bunch.
He couldn't rely on just one product. The Spirit Surge Wine (Mana Recovery) was a best-seller, but to truly dominate, he needed variety.
He walked to the Fermentation Shed.
Inside, huge vats made of Spirit Iron-Wood were lined up. The smell of alcohol was so strong that a normal mortal would get drunk just by breathing the air.
Luo Feng wasn't just making the standard wine anymore. He was experimenting.
He stopped in front of a red vat.
[Item: Flame Blood Wine (Experimental)]
[Ingredients: Spirit Grapes + Exploding Chili Extract + Yang Qi]
[Effect: Temporarily boosts Fire Affinity and physical strength. Side effect: Extreme body heat.]
And a blue vat.
[Item: Frost Spirit Wine (Experimental)]
[Ingredients: Spirit Grapes + Moon Yin Condensation + Cooling Mint]
[Effect: Calms the mind, suppresses heart demons, aids in breakthrough.]
"The market is hungry," Luo Feng said, stirring the red vat with a wooden paddle. "I have 5,000 flasks of standard wine stockpiled. But these special brews... these are for me."
He ladled out a cup of the Flame Blood Wine. It was thick, syrupy, and hot.
"Time to push," Luo Feng whispered.
The Breakthrough.
Luo Feng walked to the Spirit Spring.
He sat down in the lotus position. He was currently at the Peak of Layer 5. He had been stuck at this bottleneck for two months, polishing his Qi, compressing it until his meridians ached from the pressure.
Layer 6 was the final step of the "Mid-Stages." Once he crossed this, he would be knocking on the door of the Late Stages (Layer 7), where the true powerhouses of the city stood.
"Little Gold," Luo Feng called out mentally.
Caw.
High above, the massive black-and-gold Fire Crow circled. Little Gold understood his duty. He began to spiral downwards, radiating intense heat, turning the area around the Spirit Spring into a sauna.
"Sun & Moon Technique. Activate."
Luo Feng drank the cup of Flame Blood Wine.
BOOM.
It was like swallowing a live coal. The Exploding Chili Extract inside the wine detonated in his stomach. Violent, scorching heat rushed into his bloodstream.
"Hmph!" Luo Feng gritted his teeth, his skin turning lobster red. Steam rose from his head.
Usually, this heat would damage him. But he had the Sun & Moon Technique.
He visualized the Sun. He grabbed the chaotic fire from the wine and the heat from Little Gold, forcing it into his Yang Meridians.
Then, he visualized the Moon. He drew cool, calming energy from the Spirit Spring water and the Frost Spirit Wine vapors he inhaled, coating his Yin Meridians in ice.
Fire and Ice.
Yang and Yin.
The two opposing forces collided in his Dantian.
RUMBLE.
His body shook. The ground beneath him cracked.
The barrier to Layer 6 was a thick, grey wall in his mind. It represented the limit of his Spirit Sense and Qi capacity.
"Break!" Luo Feng roared internally.
He didn't tap the wall. He smashed it with the combined force of the Fire Wine and his tempered will.
CRACK.
The wall held for a second, then shattered.
A vortex formed inside his Dantian. The liquid Qi spun faster, compressing, becoming denser, purer.
WHOOSH!
A shockwave of energy blasted out from his body. The water in the Spirit Spring rippled violently. The nearby Spirit Rice stalks bent flat against the ground.
Luo Feng opened his eyes.
They didn't glow red or blue. They glowed with a profound, terrifying clarity.
[System Alert]
[Cultivation Breakthrough Successful.]
[Current Rank: Qi Refining Layer 6 (Early Stage).]
[Spirit Sense Range: Increased to 25 Meters.]
[Lifespan: Increased by 10 Years.]
The New Power.
Luo Feng stood up. He felt... heavy. But it was a good heaviness. It was the weight of power.
He clenched his fist. The air popped audibly.
"Layer 6," Luo Feng exhaled, watching a white stream of breath shoot out like an arrow. "My Qi capacity has doubled. My skin is tough enough to stop a normal iron sword without using Qi."
He extended his Spirit Sense.
25 Meters.
He could feel every grain of sand at the bottom of the pond. He could feel the heartbeat of the Cloud-Horn Goats sleeping fifty meters away. He could feel the individual feathers on Little Gold's wing as the bird flew high above.
"I am no longer a weakling in this city," Luo Feng realized.
In Green Willow City, Layer 1-3 were trash. Layer 4-6 were the backbone—the shopkeepers, the squad leaders, the elite mercenaries. Layer 7-9 were the Elders and Clan Heads.
At Layer 6, Luo Feng was now strong enough to be a Vice-Captain in the City Guard or a Deacon in a small clan.
He drew his saber.
Slash.
He didn't use any technique. He just swung with raw speed.
The blade moved so fast it blurred. A crescent of wind pressure cut a deep gash into the earth five meters away.
"Good," Luo Feng sheathed the weapon.
He looked at the barrels of wine. He looked at the thriving farm.
Three months of peace. Three months of getting rich.
But he knew it wouldn't last. The spies outside the shop were getting restless. The Alchemy Guild was losing too much money.
"I have consolidated my foundation," Luo Feng whispered, his eyes cold. "I have the wine. I have the strength."
He touched the token at his waist, ready to return to the real world.
"If they want to interrupt my peace... I will show them what a Layer 6 farmer can do."
[End of Chapter 37]